Survey Results by Location

"Look at the arts and theater and stuff that have come into Kalamazoo, that a lot of towns our size or cities our size wouldn't necessarily have, but we have because of the universities and colleges we have here." -Small Town Resident

"WMU. That institution is key to the fabric of our community. I think that Western in a way almost saves us but it's also like a safety net in a way because it's probably not going to go anywhere even though universities regionalize and have different campuses." -A Neighbor

"Not everybody can go to college. Not everyone is qualified to go to college, so they should have something like trade schools in Europe." -Small Town Resident

"What has kept drawing me back to Kalamazoo is variety. I mean, you have Western, you have K College, you have Pharmacia and Upjohn, you have KVCC, you have these large entities that have a lot to offer the community." -Alternative Transportation Advocate

"Also I see things happening at Kalamazoo Valley [Community College] with the Dana Corporation. I think that's really positive for the future of the community. The Western Michigan Research Park was approved. There's not a lot of communities that have the educational resources that we have." -Developer

"I think KVCC is good, and Western's good and K College. I think that's the biggest thing we have to sell around here." -Developer

Citizens Speak

"Well, if a community know what it needs for the future and what types of jobs it needs, then they should take kids interested in those fields and teach them these types of things, because not everybody's gonna go to college and be psychiatrists or whatever." -Small Town Resident

"This whole thing about everybody needs to go to college is just hoopla. There should be schools where a guy can go to be a machinist and then come back to a community like this and set up his own little machine shop." -Small Town Resident

"We probably don't utilize or take advantage of our higher education institutions as much as we should." -Alternative Transportation Advocate

"The universities provide phenomenal potential and opportunity here." -Business Person

"I see the president of the university talking about wanting to be involved with the community. It would be wonderful if they would say, "Oh, you know what we're going to do? We're gonna give our faculty an opportunity to get involved with the community!" - It would be wonderful for the community. -Historical Preservationist

"I think it's important to live in a community that has at least one college, and we're fortunate to have more than that. Not only for the cultural and educational opportunities that that offers all of us, but the community can use the facilities and expertise. -Service Organization Member